


To be Hollow

by Hollow_Vessel



Category: Hollow Knight (Video Games)
Genre: Egg time ok, Gen, Hollow is totally the pure vessel, Hollow needed a hug, Hugs, Injury, Loneliness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-07
Updated: 2020-07-15
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:53:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25125754
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hollow_Vessel/pseuds/Hollow_Vessel
Summary: A pure vessel is needed to contain the Radiance.That was what the Pale King has in Hollow, the ascended vessel....But he didn’t consider how Hollow felt.Neither did Hollow.Being alone for so long, what would someone let into their mind? Into their... dreams?
Comments: 10
Kudos: 80





	1. Empty

...

...

...

...

...

...Do not think.

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...Do not want.

...

...Do not dream... 

...

...

...

...

...

For a long time, it was blissfully dark. It was easy to only see that. Not to focus, because to focus on was to think about, but to perceive it. 

There were lots of things to view.

...

The room was dark, sparsely lit. The chains were cold. Their armor was heavy. The floor bore engravings. There was no exit, no way out. 

They were to stay here.

They were the pure vessel.  
Born of Wyrm and Root and raised by Void. This was their duty, given only to them.

It was dark in the chamber, as it was supposed to be. As it would stay.  
The ground and walls were the same desaturated brown coloring.  
The chains had seals, white and faintly glowing.

The king had cast those protective runes himself.  
They were for their safety. He had said so himself. That made it true.

The ceiling above was dark, it was far away. The chains descended down from it. The chains were sturdy. They didn’t rattle.

Looking up so far, for so long, made their neck hurt. And so they would not. 

Looking down, they could see their nail, embedded in the stone in the center of the room. White and reflective of the small amount of light produced by their bindings.

After a long time, their neck would start to ache. They would close their eyes. Darkness.

...

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It was still dark. Their nail was still resting in the stone. The chains still held them securely. The ground was the same dull color.

Nothing changed. The flow of time was irrelevant. Was time even flowing—…

…

...

...

It was dark. They were about six feet off of the ground.

The king said they had ascended. Then it was a fact...  
They had.

Climbed out of the abyss itself. Surpassed the spikes and other clambering vessels. 

They made it.

Made what-...

...

...

...

...

...

The floor must be cold...

The chains were cold.  
Their cape was tattered, they had kept it with them for long before their duties began.

The runes, covering both their front and each chain suspending them, were unchanged.  
They flickered periodically.

Hollow watched. There was a pattern to the flickers.

The sword beneath them did not have any runes. It made it stand out, though not the darkest object in the room, it drew Hollow’s attention often. Its edge was sharpened to a dangerous point.

They remembered-...

...

The walls were dull. When stared at, they looked to have dancing light.

It was ignored.

The ceiling above gave way to inky blackness.

Maybe it would-...

...  
...  
...  
...  
...

The markings on the wall held some meaning. It was a language unknown to Hollow.

There was not a need to decipher them, long paragraphs.  
Runes?...

...  
...  
...

Their cape hung from their spindly form loosely.

It did not flow.

The air was still.

Hollow again noticed the pain growing in their neck. It was nothing.

Nothing was around.

...

They were alone.  
There was nothing in the chamber, other than the nail, themself, the chains, and the darkness.

It was a comfort.

Specks of dirt on the floor.

1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9 small puddles of dirt.

Nothing moved under the comforting watch of the void. Nothing needed to move.

...  
...  
...  
...  
...

What were the chains for?

...

...

...

...Do not think.

...Do not question.

...Do not hope.

...

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...

...

...

The runes were cast by the king himself. Some of the markings resembled the Pale King.

Hollow’s blade laid in the darkness underneath where they were held. Its handle was worn from use in training.

The edge was chipped from colliding with metal.

Slamming into spinning saws, and artificial bugs with shells of steel, souls of void.

...

...

...

The walls were pale. The material did not reflect that of the cavern walls outside of their chamber.

The material came from the kingdom's stores, the building constructed by the king’s constructors.

Hollow could recognize some of the symbols engraved into the curved wall.  
Knight.  
Pure.  
...Vessel.

...Radiance...?

Hollow’s gaze flicked up, as if anything would be different.  
It was not.

Darkness seemed to pool above, threatening to drip down onto them. Into their soul.

They stared for a long time.

...

This cape, given to them by the king. It bore a mark of their regality.

It meant they were important. 

It was sewn together by bugs who lived above the White Palace.

...

...

...

...

...

Their body occasionally panged in pain. Their claws felt cold. They wanted...

...

They were cold.

How long had it been?...

It had to have been a long time.

They were serving the kingdom well. 

...

...

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Alone.

...

...

...

The darkness, it was somehow less comfortable. Hollow couldn’t put a claw on it.

The chamber was silent, free from any noise from the outside. Sounds normal of Hallownest.

Chirps, distant pebbles rolling, footsteps that emanated. Voices that babbles and echoed.

...

...

...

...Do not remember.

...Do not...

...Do not...

...

...

...

The darkness was... Oppressing.

...

...Do not feel.

...

Hollow hated the chains.

They were heavy on their chest, each breath took effort.

It was insufferable.

...

They couldn’t feel anything except for the cold.

The runes on THEM...

...Hollow couldn’t move.

...Hollow could only move their head.

...

...

...

They were trapped.

...

...

...

The nail so close, but so far out of their reach, could free them.

Break the runes.

...

But they did not desire...

...

They...

...

...

...

Hollow remembered. The voices of root and wyrm.

Of the subjects in the palace.

The time that they were not alone.

...

...

...

Now, in this moment of time, Hollow was... alone...

Before, that had not been a thing.

Whether siblings, or the King and Queen.

...

...

...

They needed more training.

...Had they not been ready?...

...

...

...

...Do not doubt.

...Do not contemplate.

...Do not wish...

...

...

...

The ground was gray. 

The ground was brown.

The ground was black.

The ground was white.

...

...

...

The symbols on the wall were hard to read. 

The darkness was distracting. 

They would stare into the darkness, eyes filling with it.

Shapes floated in it.

...

...

...

The ceiling was an impossibly far distance away from them.

The chains descended from above.

There was no glow of a torchbug.

The building constructed for them, it was close to the surface.

It was impossible to tell.

...

They were far from the White Palace.

So far away...

Far away from the King...

Far away from the rest of the subjects...

...

Far away from their siblings as well.

...

...

...

How long...

Something in Hollow ached, but it wasn’t their various painful joints and limbs.

...

...

...

It felt... Bad.

...They wanted...

...

...

It was not allowed.

They wanted...

...They... Missed...?

...

...

...

Some company... They missed... The king.

...

...

...

The one who would pat their head, when they got through the obstacles quicker and quicker.

...

...

...

To be truly hollow...

What a lonely thing.

...

Lonely.

...

...

...

They used to sit in the garden with the queen, helping them tend the garden.

They rarely said anything to Hollow.

Hollow would just tend to the plants alongside them.

She never made eye contact with them.

That was fine...

...

...

...

The king... He...

...

...

...

Seemed to care about them.

Taught them how to fight.

Taught them to be hollow.

...

...

...

Taught them to look up to him.

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It was dark. It always was.

Their eyes would sweep from side to side. The room felt impossibly wide. It went around, in a large circular shape.

...

With them in the center, held high above, above standing on the stone floor.

...

Alone.

In the silence.

...

...

...

...

...

Their neck hurt. Their... Their chest hurt as well.

Their head hurt too.

...Everything hurt.

...

...

It wasn’t as dark anymore.

It had been a subtle change.

But any change in this environment was easy to notice.

...It stuck out.

This was new. The reason unknown to them.

...

...

...

Something was in the shadows.

...

...

...

Though they could see much of the room, the space behind them was unknown to them.

...

It felt like they were being watched.

That was impossible.

...

...

...

_Vessel._

...

...

...

They stiffened in their chains, barely a movement. 

Their eyes darted around.

Had they... heard something?

No, no.

They were alone.

...

...

...

_Do you wish to leave this place?_

...

...

...

...

...

They weren’t alone anymore.

...

The voice seemed to have no source. It echoed like a voice should in a place like this, but something about the voice felt ethereal, in a way...

It reminded them of the queen...

...

...

...

They would not listen to it.

...

It was.... It wasn’t as dark in the room.

...

The floors were a different hue, ever so slightly.

...

The engravings on the wall, a few of them seemed to glow.

...

Protective runes, still periodically glimmered. The only thing that seemed to have remained.

The runes were cast by the king himself.

Hollow never doubted the king. They were right in that.

...

...

...

They were still alone. The room was silent. The darkness was comforting.

...

Their nail stuck out of the stone. The rooms second center of attention, aside from themself, the Hollow Knight.

Its handle was familiar. They could see the grooves where their claws seemed to fit perfectly. The dulled edge work from constant use, constant slicing.

It would likely still work as well as it did on the first day of its creation at the hands of the royal nailsmith.

It was a light and balanced weapon. Almost as tall as themself, weight evenly distributed. Expertly crafted, it could slice through a bug’s shell with barely any effort on Hollow’s part...

They thought back to the past. Slashing the training dummy. Hitting against spinning blades, using it to climb higher and higher..

_Do you want to wield that nail once more?_

...

...

...

Their cape was an odd cloth. Not the one they were created with. 

It was a slightly different color.

It hung statically in the still, stale air of the chamber.

...

The chains reflected the light of the protective runes. The chains that had not moved since they wrapped around them and hoisted them into the air.

...

The dirt on the floor had not changed.

...

They were alone.

...

A gnawing pain was chewing at their insides. 

...

Their claws wouldn’t move. They were cold.

...

They were alone.

They were alone for a reason.

They were saving Hallownest.

...

...

...

You don’t have to stand alone.

Their chest hurt.

Their mask hurt.

...

They... They felt warm...?

It was new. 

It hurt.

It felt... brighter in the room.

...

...

_Little one?_

...

They were alone.

Their... Their chest hurt...

...

Their neck hurt. 

Their face hurt...

_You aren’t alone._

...

The floor was blurry.

The walls were blurry.

Their nail was reflecting back... orange light...

They blinked and that went away.

Hollow looked around quicker, tried to do so much as to lift a claw.

...

...

...

They could not.

The seal over them, it prevented them from moving.

...

It was for their protection.

The king said it.

That made it a fact.

...

_You can be with him again._

...

_[I.. Can..?]_

...

...

...

The chamber flashed orange suddenly.

...

There was a sound in the chamber, for the first time in the unknown period of time that had passed.

A crack, that echoed throughout for a good few seconds.

Their mask hurt.

It hurt a lot.

...

...

At least, they were warm...

...

The previously dark seas of inky darkness on the ceiling were consumed with orange glow.

The air, though still stale, now scented of sweets... But in a fake way...

...

...

It hurt.

It hurt...

_Don’t fret._

...

They... they weren’t... alone...

Not anymore...

...

The previous dull ache turned gnawing, was now the source of their warmth. No, it was burning. 

A flame lit within.

A scream left their maw.

It wasn’t their own.

It wasn’t their own.

It wasn’t their own.

...

...

...

It hurt.

Their head was full of that awful voice...

Her voice.

She spoke of strength.

Of freedom.

Of company.

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

She lied to them.

The comforting darkness was there no longer.

Only painfully bright orange light.

A burning sweet scent that seared at their face.

They could feel it clawing away at their insides and breaking through their shell.

...

They were still alone.

The voice stopped, but the Radiance’s effects were here to stay.

...

...

...

...Do not think.

...Do not speak.

...Do not hope.

...

...

...

...Had they failed the king...?


	2. Bright

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another way things could have gone, written in a less abstract way.

As two higher beings approached the egg, one was.. feeling.

Feeling was strictly forbidden. And so they would simply stop, all without missing a step.

Though the closer they got to the ominous feeling structure, the more it felt like their shade wanted to break out of their shell and dash far, far away.  
The closer they got to the structure, more closer their facade felt to shattering into a million pieces before their very eyes.

They wouldn’t react to the growing feeling of... of... They weren’t too sure. A vessel had no need for feelings, and not for the definitions of them either.

...Was this feeling good, or was it bad? All feelings were bad at the fundamental level. If they felt, then the Radiance would be able to snake her way into their mind, into their dreams, into their shell.

And that was simply disallowed. They wouldn’t feel. They wouldn’t react. They wouldn’t think. Only to observe, and to obey was their duty.  
To be hollow, to be hollow for all of eternity was the task bestowed upon them by the king. And who were they to disobey such an absolute order.

No one.

The title, The Hollow Knight. It meant nothing to them. The statue commemorating them, nothing but stone, buried deep beneath the path they tread.

The cavern in front of them seemed to stretch on forever. But it didn’t. The egg was within reach. A structure with insides unknown to them.

The irony of their prison being an egg was lost to them. They didn’t have the words to even begin to piece that together.

The Pale King, who has been leading their path ever since they stepped foot out of the Palace, stopped in front of the door, which was decorated with three empty holes.  
Where the seals would be when their imprisonment began, Hollow pieced together from their disjointed memories of the plan.

The structure was intimidating. It had a foreboding feeling about it. They wished to look up upon it, gaze upon just how formidable it was from merely a few feet away. But they would not move their head an inch. Kept their feet firmly on the ground. Held their cloak as they had been for the entirety of the long walk from the Palace.

Hollow stared blankly ahead, listening to stone churn, to distant drips of water on the rock, to the scurrying of lesser minded creatures going about their lives, unaware of it all.

With a thud, the doors before them were agape.  
Staring inside, Hollow was met with something that they felt stare back at them. As inky and dark as their own soul. As empty and void as they were supposed to be.

...Something though, something about it felt off. In the shadows, perhaps a stirring. Something about the place called to them. Summoned them and willed them to walk deeper into its depths, despite the unknown that lurked throughout.

An unknown that Hollow would fear, if they knew what fear meant. If they had not been taught to suppress such a thing. Though, if they knew what the unknown was... Then it would be known... They would have to find out for themself...

Another spike of feeling seemed to force its way up their throat. But they wouldn’t move, wouldn’t think, would stand frigid and wait.

They wanted to look to their.. father, but they knew that doing so right now would doom them. Doom all of them. Their father, themself, the entire kingdom. The Queen. Their sibling...s.

...There had to be more out there. The memories they had of... before, they couldn’t be fabricated. Because they... they didn’t have a mind to fabricate with. Only a feeling that...

“Ahem.” The King cleared their throat, cutting through the suffocating silence that allowed Hollow’s mind free reign.

Hollow gave no reaction or acknowledgement of this noise, however, as unmoving as an inanimate object. As a tool. As a weapon. As The Pure Vessel.

“Hallownest... It shall forever prevail through your sacrifice. Hollow Knight, walk.” The King spoke in a bland and uninterested voice, mind likely elsewhere.

The command given was simple.  
They could do this.  
...  
They didn’t desire to.

But to desire was to not be hollow.  
They would not hesitate.  
To hesitate is to not be hollow.

They would obey, walking forward into the darkness without any fretting. They never did seem to have anything to say.

They could feel the light hitting their back, they could sense its presence. The light coming off of the King himself. They could still turn around and run. They wouldn’t. It was much too late for that silly grubbish idea...

Stone started to grate against stone with a painful scream. That light became narrower and narrower. There was still time to run. They could escape, they were quick enough to.

But they would not. They would not stop walking. They were the-

With a great blast and a plume of dust in its wake, the door behind them slammed shut. Three more pounds and their fate was officially sealed.  
And all they could do was stare ahead, having momentarily stopped. A shudder ran through their body momentarily.

Hollow didn’t need to turn around to know what had happened. The light was gone, any and all traces of it deserting them.

...  
...  
...

And after a moment, they would keep walking, soon met with a different light.  
The floor beneath them began glowing in rings where their legs met the ground.  
It was mesmerizing. They would keep walking, determined to save them all.

But the path was long, and soon, despite their previous efforts, in the darkness they could only find thoughts rushing through their mind. Not a howling wind of emptiness.

Their mind drifted to the last being they had seen. The King. Their father.  
That was a word they had learned, walking to the nailsmith with him. A parent and child had been speaking in the town plaza. A link created in a place said to not exist.

Was that what he truly was to them?  
It felt right, but at the same time, not. But they lacked many of the concepts they would need to piece it together themselves...

He barely made eye contact with them, barely looked at them. Did not speak with them if not issuing an order. Spoke about them as if they were an object- which, they were for all intensive purposes.

Was that a father?... Hollow would never be sure, but for some reason, thinking of him in that term was a comfort.

Soon, there was a bench beside them, away from the path, useless. Another structure, seemingly floating inside this dark, dark void, leered over them. The ground beneath them still cast light, their only footing in this endless chasm. 

In front of them, a room. Their chest ached, they could feel a heavy weight on their shoulders, but it was not from the heavy pale armor they wore. Something about the chamber ahead felt oppressive. Yet, perhaps a few lakes beneath that, it was inviting.

Panic, that’s what the feeling was. It was what they felt when an attack was whizzing towards them at too high of a speed to dodge. How they felt moments before knowing they would need to take the blunt of the damage and bear it without a reaction.

They were hesitating. But they couldn’t, because if they did, they might not ever take the step forward... And so they would force themself to take the next step. And then the next. And then the next. Until behind them, the darkness would be swallowed up as a metal gate snapped up into place.

Hollow looked up. It was dark and gray in here, any light that they had seen before, gone.

The ground had odd engravings. It seemed to be circular in shape. Their last order was still to walk, should they apply that still..?  
Feeling out of direction, but perhaps in a feeble attempt to stall the inevitable from happening, Hollow would slowly take steps towards the center of the chamber, eyes lingering above. The chains hanging down toward them, seemingly without any purpose.

For a minute, Hollow thought that perhaps this was their task. To simply be, in this place.

However, shortly they were proven wrong. As they stepped into the direct center circle, the floor changed. The grooves in the stone sparked to light, suddenly ablaze with glowing bright light that was reminiscent of the king.

Their gaze fell to the floor as they watched, suddenly feeling stuck in place. Without the power to move, without a will to even consider it, as the lights started on the outskirts of the circle, and blazed to the center, lighting up around their feet.

That light would sparkle and glitter for a few seconds, before quickly flashing to yellow, then to a gold, and finally to a sickeningly bright orange, that they couldn’t tear their eyes away from no matter how awful the burning sensation that filled their mask was.

Soon the light would all rush into the center of the circle and Hollow would be consumed by the beam of rushing light.

Like they were trained, they would focus, shutting off the world and pulling in. Though unlike other times where this healed them and relieved pains acquired from training bouts, this filled their shell with fire.  
Or, perhaps not fire. Fire hurt less. Fire burnt out quickly. Fire didn’t smell so sweet it made them want to throw up.

Pain flooded their senses all at once, as the light was swallowed up into them.

They could feel their breath catch in their throat as metal clanged above them, and quickly shot down. They felt the metal constrict around them quickly, uncaring of the pain that made them want to writhe and struggle and scream with the voice that they did not have.

Something about the chains, maybe the sealing runes bound upon them, made it impossible for them to move. They could only shake their head rapidly from side to side, trying to banish the light in their sight that would not go away. Trying to cool the blazing inside of their skull.

More of these chains would lash at them, and wrap around them, pull them and secure to both their armor and thick rings sticking out of the ground.

They continued shaking their head, until the pain grew dizzying and the room grew still.  
No no no no no...  
Was this?

Was this the beginning of forever?...  
They suddenly had a thought. Regret. An odd concept, but they were wishing very quickly that they had joined the rest of their siblings.

...

The pain ebbed away slowly, but they couldn’t move anything aside from their head. The final rune in their armor that had activated assured that they would not escape, not in one, or even two eternities.

...

The burning seemed to eat away at them, as they tried to regain their composure as The Hollow Knight.

But now they were missing what little they did have.

The occasional glances from the king. The sparse moments they had spent in the presence of the White Lady, their... their mother. The rare times that the little pill bug, Monomon’s assistant, had been tasked with watching them, and had instead read them passages from stories.

...Though what they missed the most was something from even longer ago.

When they were referred to as a grub, oddly. They never understood the term very well...  
...The proud look they had garnered from the king for completing the King’s gauntlet, the Path of Pain.

...  
...  
...

That moment, it meant a lot to them. Did that mean that they weren’t hollow?... To hold a memory in high regard. To remember. To think about. Were they still hollow?...

...They hoped that they were.

But what did that even mean? To not think? To not feel?...

...  
...  
...

They wanted to leave.  
The clawing in their chest was growing worse.  
Was it their shade? Was it their heavy restraints? Making it hard to breathe?  
...  
Was it the Radiance?

Whatever the cause of the pain, it warranted the same reaction from them, struggling. Flailing. 

Uselessly exerting themself to pull on the chains, fervently trying to make their body move.  
But it wouldn’t work. It wouldn’t work and they wanted to get out of here. They couldn’t be alone forever. They couldn’t stand it, they weren’t hollow. 

They weren’t.  
They never were.  
They didn’t deserve the title of Hollow Knight.  
They never did.  
It was a mistake.

...  
They were a mistake.

...  
...  
...

Eventually, they would find themself sinking into something unimaginable. Perhaps spurred out of boredom, a result of their panic and moment of unclarity.

From the books that Quirrel had read them, and things Monomon had described to them, this, by all definitions, seemed like a dream.

Everything was bright, though not unpleasantly so. Everything seemed to have a slight blur to the edges of it, light shining behind everything.

Hollow looked around in confusion, eyes scanning as they tried to gain any sense of bearing. The white pillars and tiled floor reminded them of the White Palace. But again, it was too bright. It was unrealistic in just the slightest way that made them feel their shade squirming in their shell.

With nothing much to do, and no clear way out except to continue forward, Hollow would walk through the familiar halls. Though they had another air of unfamiliarity. This wasn’t a place that they had ever been to in the palace. And if it was, they weren’t there often enough to commit it to memory.

The halls echoed with the resounding sounds of their footsteps, which was odd. Usually their gait was very quiet, only a light and rapid tap if they were running. Hollow looked up and around, feeling unsettled by this. The way the sound bounced was not that as in the real world.  
It was another layer of complexity, the fact that the hall was barren, none of the king’s advisors lurking about, on edge as if the king himself would leap around a corner and bite their head off.

Then that might explain the echoing, the unsettling emptiness that prevailed the place.

Hollow had almost missed the fact that their surroundings seemed to grow brighter the longer that they walked. Along with the light, their sense of direction seemed to grow more and more scrambled. Before it had seemed like merely a piece of the palace that they didn’t frequent, but now it seemed like a hall trying to mimic one of the palace’s true halls. 

Hollow felt confused now, claws tugging at the rim of their cloak- cloak? Now they would notice that they were not wearing their armor, the set made for them to wear into the Black Egg. This confirmed to them that this was a dream, if all the other signs before didn’t. A dream was a hard thing to wrap their mind around, given how they had never had one before, and weren’t exactly sure how to stop, or if they even could.

Dreams so far seemed boring, maybe even harmless to them. Was this really a bad thing? Their body lacked the pain of reality, they could move and walk, run maybe even, and they did not have that heavy weight on their shoulders anymore. They felt lighter, with their only grievance being their current state of directionlessness. 

...  
Soon the light was blinding, and the air felt like it was growing warmer. Not an uncomfortable temperature, just not what they were used to. Hollow could remember the palace being a decent, coolish temperature. This was... different, and they weren’t sure how to describe it. Maybe cozy?...

Ahead of them, the hallway that had before seemed endless, came to an end. Or rather, it opened up into an impossibly bright room.  
Something itched at them in the back of their mind, though.

Something about the Radiance... They had been ignoring it, but it was a resolute fact that she preyed upon bugs in their dreams. And that the Radiance was represented by an impressively bright light, and warm tones.

Hollow halted in their steps, unsure now what they were to do. It wasn’t like they could escape this dream, and if they could then the method wasn’t obvious to them.

If the Radiance was here to take over their mind, then they would simply fight her. Hollow wasn’t going to go down without a fight. And so they, not being in reality where they were supposed to appear emotionless, as a tool and weapon to be used, took a deep breath to brace themself for the battle that was surely ahead, if they were interpreting things correctly.

This was for Hallownest, they told themself. They were going to save everyone...

Do not think...  
Do not dream.  
Do not hope...

Be Hollow, for the kingdom

Clearing their mind, they would step forward.

_”You’re not hollow besides in title and name, little one.“_

The voice in their head was booming and unexpected. The Hollow Knight stumbled, before swiftly regaining their composure and continuing onward, with a flat expression and a brave air about them.

_“No being is hollow. To be hollow is to not be alive.“_

Do not think. They gripped their nail, drawing it from its sheath with a comforting sound that they had heard countless times before, in the beginning of spars and ventures out to exterminate hordes of infected bugs.

To be made to think that you are... that you could ever be such a thing, you weren’t deserving...

The voice sounded to have a pang of sorrow to it, oddly enough. It rang familiar as well, reminding Hollow of the queen...

Though, not in the sound of their voice. Merely tone. Protective. Caring? She spoke with authority, though not in a dictative way.

_“That wyrm was foolish to think that he was capable of creating a hollow being...”_

Hollow shook their head and entered the room.

The room before them unfolded to reveal a large space, the furthest back wall was crumbled away, revealing an infinitely spanning sea of sky, sunlight, and soft clouds.

Hollow stared, feeling to be in a daze. The light, it was foreign to them as a creature of void, as a resident of Hallownest... Never in their life had they seen something so, so brilliant. 

This light, it was brighter than a swarm of lumaflies, warmer than the roaring fireplace in the king’s study, more serene than the queen’s well kept gardens.

They soon continued walking forward, closer to the vast scene laid before them, like a painting on tapestry.  
Their claws felt weak, grip loosening until, with a clatter and a clang, their nail slip out of their hand and would fall against the tile. But they didn’t care, didn’t seem to even acknowledge it, continuing to walk until they stood on the edge of the room.

Down below from where they stood was more of the pastel blues and yellows and pinks from before. The light looked to reach out forever and ever.  
The building that they were in impossibly floated on a layer of clouds, but what did Hollow care about whether or not such a thing was possible?

Their gaze slid up as something scratched at their mind.

Hollow’s eyes landed on pure white fluff, white eyes stared down at them, and Hollow has never felt smaller in their entire life.

They would stumble a step back and land in a sit, hands resting against the tile as they looked up, unable to help the small tremor that ran through their body as they observed the being before them.

A large white moth, with a crown atop their head. Every periodic flap of their wings seemed to radiate light. They were an impossibly large creature, seeming to take up almost the entire sky, yet not blocking any of its radiant sunlight.

Hollow was unmistaken, this was the Radiance. Here she was, in the blood, just watching them with sadness in their eyes while they sat, petrified by the mere sight of her light and unable to lift a single claw, nevermind retrieve their previously discarded weapon.

_“Now, now.”_

Her voice shook them to their very core, seeming to radiate throughout the entire realm, and yet seemed focused in their mind all the same. Hollow slowly raised their head to look at them again, claws shaking.

_“You’re safe here.”_

The Radiance’s words were highly confusing. How could they be safe? There she was, in full glory, looking down at them. The Hollow Knight, meant to contain this higher being, but ending up being... Not being enough to complete the task, nowhere close to the mark.  
Yet she spoke of safety? In this place? It baffled them to no end.

Not exactly feeling safe, the vessel would muster the courage to inch away from their stunning presence, form trembling from the effort, yet they didn’t get very far. Their gaze was fixed upon her bright, glowing eyes. The light that shone from the sky was enough but this was overwhelming the now small feeling vessel.  
Hollow’s claws forced themselves back slightly, sliding along the floor in search of their weapon’s hilt. The pure nail that still lie far out of their reach, as they seemed to have underestimated the distance of it. As they realized this, the last amount of hope that they had foolishly clung to diminished. 

_“There’s no need for that.”_  
Her voice was firm, and Hollow would once again freeze in their actions and look up with wide eyes. The moth-like creature would make their first move since appearing, hovering a bit lower to the platform and giving their wings a forceful flap as they landed on the platform, eyes glinting slightly, and yet the Radiance would peacefully fold their wings and puff their feathers in an oddly gentle manner.

She seemed to give off a great warmth, Hollow couldn’t help but notice with her sudden advancement. The vessel watched in fear, following their form, yet not moving from their spot despite their intense need to. The primordial instinct to flee from the light, from where did it originate from?  
...Simply another way in which they were a failure. A failed vessel who wasn't hollow...

They must have made another mistake, and let their emotion show somehow.  
_“What you’re aspiring for, it is impossible, little one.”_

Hollow kept their eyes fixed to the floor, ignoring them. If they ignored them, if they could clear their mind, then maybe they would go away and they could peacefully and thoughtlessly live out the rest of eternity here, while the kingdom lived safely below. 

_“With so much pressure put upon you from the beginning of your life, it’s a surprise that your shell is intact.”_  
She seemed to regard them in a sad tone, gaze softening. Though Hollow would not look up to meet her eyes, having not glanced away from the tile, appearing to be trying to focus and clear their mind, leave this place.

It was impossible, and despite knowing it, they could not convince themself of the fact. Their trance was unbroken until a squeaking laugh interrupted them.  
Then their gaze would snap upwards to her, who was laughing and cradling themself in her wings.

After a moment she quieted and met their eyes.

_“You’re not a Hollow Knight. Maybe a knight, but that is all. But it is not your fault. I can hear your thoughts echoing. You knew that this would be the fate of this little plan all along. You foresaw this and yet bore your title..”_

The Radiance sank to the ground before Hollow, eyes soft and expression somber.

Hollow wasn’t sure if they were processing this all correctly or not, feeling dazed from the lights, and simply the words of this being. Something about merely listening to her, it transcended anything else. They couldn’t not hear her words.

 _“Though your creation was unnatural, you’re merely a bug.”_  
The Radiance seemed to impossibly inch closer, regal form taking up more of their sight.

 _“And a grub, at that... Improperly cared for.”_ Her voice was bitter for a moment, gaze turning glare for an instant, in which the room grew almost unbearably hot. Hollow tensed and closed their eyes, head bowing against their will. They screamed at themself internally, but from their respectful position, they did not move a muscle.

Her piercing gaze was all they felt, it took up all of their senses and consumed them as their arms began to shake under their own weight, and they would find themself sinking, with their mask soon against the tiles, and icy cold liquid budding from their eyes.

 _“...I pity you.”_ Her voice was closer now.

_“To be instilled with admiration... No, attachment... to that foolish wyrm.”_

_“Only to be neglected, treated as an inanimate weapon...”_ The Radiance sounded somber, voice calm though with a hidden fury to it that made Hollow’s claws shake.

_“To be starved of a life. For the sake of an impossible ordeal, in the name of a foolish creature, who could not choose a correct path if it was the only path before him...”_

_“You deserved so much more, grub.”_

...

Hollow could sense that she had lifted a wing, and in an instant, a blazing pain touched them, seeming to scorch their shell.  
Yet they had no voice to cry suffering.

They would resist, but only for a while before they violently pulled away. For a moment, they thought they had pulled away. But then they would open their eyes, and find themself sitting flat on the ground, sitting quite close to it, actually. Hollow looked up, still with void-infused tears streaming down their face and staining their pale gray robes. Pale gray robes that were now much too big for them.

The Radiance sat perched before them, looking down at them with almost an amused air to her presence. Mocking...? No...

_“A form more fitting...”_

Hollow was wracked with confusion, and a sense of vertigo. Off balanced and feeling weak from whatever attack that had been, along with an ever prevailing sensation of hopelessness, they would cup their claws over their eyes as more tears spilled and dripped onto the tiles.

Silent in their sobs that tore through their body, it would take them settling into their side and pulling their hands away to notice that rather than the tough claws they were used to, they were met with the familiar, yet unfamiliar sight of soft hands, without definable features.

Realization slowly dawned upon them, accompanied by an enhanced sense of dread. The earlier dizziness that had led them to their current fetal position, was the sudden shift in their body weight, from top heavy to something more balanced.

Hollow shakingly turned their hollow eyes towards their weapon, finding it to appear much larger than before, taller than themselves in this pitiful and helpless feeling form. 

The Radiant being in the room was silent as they watched them slowly adjust and gain their bearings.

Deep down, Hollow still felt confused. Very confused, and conflicted. The Radiance spoke badly of the king, spoke of being hollow being impossible... That they knew, but didn’t wish to know wasn’t just a hunch of theirs that haunted them in their slumber.

Her speaking of the king, it felt wrong. It made a rage bubble deep inside of their tiny shell, and yet they couldn’t do anything about it as their small form seemed it could only blubber and spill more void onto the ground.  
The king wasn’t as she said. He was doing what he could for the kingdom, and Hollow sought only to gain his prideful gaze. To be the knight that saved them all...

Hollow... Missed them. They felt lost without their guidance.

The moth shook their head at Hollow suddenly, causing them to jolt in place and cower away in fear.

 _“He did not care for you.”_ Her words were simple, but they stung. They felt true...

Hollow looked up at her silently, before looking down to the shiny floor, now speckled with their tears. Tears that reminded them of their failure. Years of a plan in the making... Thrown away because of them... Everything has accumulated into this one moment. And Hollow had thrown it away. Let their mind wander, focus diminish. And this was-

Hollow’s self deprecating inner dialogue was abruptly cut off by a sudden warmth overtaking them. Soft feathers scooping them off of the floor.  
The Radiance was warm, they observed, as shock had appeared to have halted their tears. Her.. feather-like fur was infinitely times softer than it had appeared before.

Stunned, they wouldn’t resist as they were manipulated to be held against her in a form of affection unknown to them. Warmth oozed around Hollow’s usually cool body, causing their shell to at first shudder, before they relaxed into the unfamiliar feeling, tears turning back to a reflection, albeit at a much slower rate.

They were not sure of their own reaction, feeling as if their own feelings had betrayed them.  
But they had not, as they had always been the same. Their’s, not someone else’s that could be extruded by sheer focus no matter how hard they fought to believe that.

Nothing was said as they were brought into a closer embrace, their other wing going to gently rub their head and coax more tears out of them.

They would close their eyes tightly, before finally relaxing into the hug.

And the instant they did, their mask cracked. At first they were quiet, before a unselfly scream tore through them, pain bolting through their entire body and resulting in them violently shuddering, tears increasing tenfold, leaking harmlessly into the warm and bright feathers, dissolving without a fuss.

Though the pain was still great, they would close their eyes.


End file.
